On This Page

Wild Viking

Introduction

Wild Viking can loosely be described as a roulette game using cards instead of a wheel and ball. The game will deal five cards from a 54-card deck (including two jokers). The player may bet on what the last card will be. In addition, there are poker bets that pay based on the poker value of all five cards. The game can be found at Internet casinos using Playtech software.

Rules

I will call the bets based on the last card the "roulette bets." There are various types of bets, as follows.

Roulette Bets

Bet

Pays

Red, black, odd, even

2 for 1

Suit

4 for 1

2-7, 8-K

2 for 1

2-5, 6-9, 10-K

3 for 1

Single card

52 for 1

Two cards

26 for 1

Four cards

13 for 1

I will call the bets based on the poker-value of all five cards the "Poker Bets." The Poker Bets pays if the final five-card hand is the poker value of the bet made or better. For example, a bet on a two pair would win if the poker value of the hand were a three of a kind. There are various types of bets, as follows.

Poker Bets

Bet

Pays

Four of a kind

280 to 1

Full house

150 to 1

Flush

90 to 1

Straight

45 to 1

Three of a kind

9 to 1

Two pair

6 to 1

Pair -- sixes or better

1 to 1

Finally, there is a progressive jackpot bet called the Wild Viking. It also pays based on the poker value of the final five-card hand. To win the jackpot the player must get a "Wild Viking," which is defined as a wild royal flush, where the first and last cards dealt are jokers. The pay table is as follows.

Wild Viking Bet

Event

Pays

Wild Viking

Jackpot

Five of a kind

1000 for 1

Royal flush

250 for 1

Straight flush

50 for 1

Four of a kind

20 for 1

Full house

10 for 1

Flush

8 for 1

Straight

5 for 1

Three of a kind

3 for 1

Analysis

The following table shows my analysis of the Roulette Bets. Remember that wins are on a "for one" basis.

Roulette Bets — Analysis

Bet

Pays

WinningNumbers

Probability

ExpectedReturn

Red, black, odd, even

2

26

0.481481

-0.037037

Suit

4

13

0.240741

-0.037037

2-7, 8-K

2

24

0.444444

-0.111111

2-5, 6-9, 10-K

3

16

0.296296

-0.111111

Single card

52

1

0.018519

-0.037037

Two cards

26

2

0.037037

-0.037037

Four cards

13

4

0.074074

-0.037037

The following table shows my analysis of the Poker Bets. Remember that wins are on a "to one" basis.

Roulette Bets — Analysis

Bet

Pays

Combinations

Probability

ExpectedReturn

Four of a kind

280

10,062

0.003182

-0.105956

Full house

150

19,422

0.006141

-0.072660

Flush

90

30,810

0.009742

-0.113454

Straight

45

65,514

0.020716

-0.047072

Three of a kind

9

298,482

0.094381

-0.056186

Two pair

6

422,034

0.133449

-0.065857

Pair -- sixes or better

1

1,522,050

0.481279

-0.037442

The following table shows my analysis of the Wild Viking Bet. Remember that wins are on a "for one" basis. The bet amount is one $/£/€, depending on the currency of the player.

Wild Viking Bet — Analysis

Bet

Pays

Permutations

Probability

ExpectedReturn

Wild Viking

?

480

0.000001

?

Five of a kind

1000

9,360

0.000025

0.024664

Royal flush

250

9,600

0.000025

0.006324

Straight flush

50

64,800

0.000171

0.008538

Four of a kind

20

1,123,200

0.002960

0.059193

Full house

10

1,123,200

0.002960

0.029597

Flush

8

1,366,560

0.003601

0.028807

Straight

5

4,164,480

0.010974

0.054868

Three of a kind

3

27,956,160

0.073666

0.220997

Total

35,817,840

0.094381

0.432988 + ?

As with all progressive bets, the expected return depends on the amount in the jackpot. When I wrote this page on July 16, 2014, the jackpot was at 23,506, which equates to a total return of 46.3%.

To return for any given jackpot is 43.30% plus 1.2648% for every $10,000 in the meter. To reach break-even (return of 100%), the jackpot must get to 448,295.50.